According to the Washington Post, the US is secretly urging Ukraine to show it is willing to speak with Russia, even though the State Department claims Moscow is escalating the conflict and is not sincere about wanting to have peace negotiations.
The appeal by American officials, according to the newspaper’s unnamed sources, was not intended to force Ukraine to the bargaining table but rather was a deliberate move to guarantee Kyiv retains the support of other countries.
In regions of Europe, Africa, and Latin America, where the war’s consequences on food and fuel costs are felt most acutely, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s ban on negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused anxiety, US and Ukrainian officials acknowledged.
For some of our partners, “Ukraine fatigue is a genuine thing,” the report quoted an unnamed US official as saying.
On October 4, Zelenskiy officially declared the possibility of any discussions between Ukraine and Putin to be “impossible,” but he left the door open for negotiations with Russia.
Regarding the report’s veracity, the White House National Security Council was unable to comment right away.
A representative for the State Department replied: “As we’ve previously stated and will do so again, deeds speak louder than words. If Russia is willing to negotiate, it should cease firing missiles and bombs at Ukraine and remove its troops.
“This war’s escalation by the Kremlin is ongoing. Even before it began its full-scale military campaign, the Kremlin showed that it was unwilling to engage in real diplomacy.
